Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind Opening at Epcot in 2022
Walt Disney World has announced that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot will officially in 2022! This is another milestone in the transformation of Epcot, and happens during the World’s Most Magical Celebration 50th Anniversary event. This post shares details, plus our thoughts from a tour INSIDE the Cosmic Rewind show building.
For years, Disney stated that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind would open “in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort in 2021.” However, that has not been the case since the closure/reopening. It’s been obvious for a while that Cosmic Rewind would be delayed.
Recently, Walt Disney World has not offered any official statements about the opening timeline for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Today’s 50th Anniversary Showcase was the first we’ve heard anything about the attraction for a while now. The big question was whether the new Epcot attraction would open in 2022 or be pushed into 2023.
In case you’re unfamiliar with it, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has been dubbed a “storytelling coaster” by Imagineering, which is to say it’s a roller coaster with show scenes. Walt Disney World has repeatedly emphasized that Cosmic Rewind is a family-friendly attraction (no word on whether it’ll have a height requirement, but our guess is yes).
The attraction’s OmniCoaster ride system is a collaboration between WDI and Vekoma, a roller coaster manufacturer. Cosmic Rewind’s vehicles will be able to rotate 360 degrees to direct your attention to show scenes; the OmniCoaster will also be able to do a reverse launch—a first for Walt Disney World.
Beyond that, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be the first other-world showcase pavilion at Epcot. The adventure starts in the “Galaxarium,” a planetarium-like exhibition that explores the similarities and mysteries of the formation of Earth’s galaxy and Xandar.
The premise is that Nova Corps have arrived on Earth, and are inviting guests at Epcot to learn more about the treasures Xandar has to share. From the looks of concept art, it seems likely that the main building will house a science museum-like exhibition, perhaps an effort at “edutainment” and making the attraction fit in Future World World Discovery.
Speaking of which, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be located in the new World Discovery area of Epcot, which will showcase science, technology, and intergalactic adventure. Other offerings in this Epcot neighborhood will include the Play Pavilion (maybe???), Mission Space, Space 220 Restaurant, and Test Track.
How far along work is on Cosmic Rewind is unknown. Visible construction continues to take place on and around the ride’s first building, which is the former Universe of Energy attraction. However, the gravity building that’ll house the roller coaster portion of the ride has been enclosed for roughly two years.
Universe of Energy was the longest EPCOT Center attraction (in duration), so there’s a ton of space before even getting to the gravity building that houses the OmniCoaster.
The former Universe of Energy attraction space will be home to the queue, pre-show, load/unload, and opening act of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Besides what’s visible around the courtyard and facade, it’s unclear how much of the portion of the first half of the attraction is finished. Recent permits suggest there’s still work to be done.
As for the gravity building, I had a chance to see inside during the World’s Most Magical Celebration media event.
My main impression is that it’s huge. Hardly a bombshell revelation, as the colossal building is visible from across World Showcase Lagoon and has been one point of contention about the attraction.
Beyond the size of the space, there’s a lot of OmniCoaster track weaving through that colossal area. For me, the amount of track was the most reassuring aspect of the visit–it’s difficult to judge from the ground, but it looks like the ride duration should be fairly satisfying.
There are also several tunnels, screens along the perimeter of the upper level of the track, a jump point, and even a large moon or planet that the OmniCoaster vehicles circle. It’s going to be a very obscure comparison, but the whole thing reminded me of a very amped-up version of Space Fantasy – The Ride (that’s very high praise).
Photos weren’t allowed inside, so you’ll just have to take my word for all of that. Walt Disney World and Imagineering previously released a couple of photos from inside the building and there were quick glimpses in a preview video last Christmas; those give a pretty good idea of what it’s like inside, although no photos do justice to the scale.
While our tour groups did have to wear absurd parachute pants and other PPE, one thing that’s notable is that we did not wear hardhats or safety vests. That’s significant, as it means construction is finished–at least in the gravity building.
In fact, Imagineers who guided the tour said that there’s only a brief window right now when they could greet groups, as testing will begin in the coming weeks. Now, that doesn’t mean Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be ready to open in Spring 2022, as there’s still that other building that’s home to the attraction’s opening act–roughly half of the attraction, per Imagineers.
To that point, during today’s Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Showcase, Tom Fitzgerald and Scot Drake from Walt Disney Imagineering offered a glimpse inside the Galaxarium.
It’s difficult to tell what work remains to be done, but it’s clear–both from their hardhats and the scene behind them–that it’s not finished. There’s also the fact that footage needs to be shot of the Guardians of the Galaxy, which is reportedly occurring alongside the third film and the holiday special later this year.
Moreover, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure was done with construction last year, and Walt Disney World still held off on opening the attraction for almost another full year. So there’s every reason to believe that Disney will once again open Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in 2022 when it’s strategically most advantageous.
Our guess would be Summer 2022. Memorial Day weekend would make sense, as would early June 2022. We’ve speculated for a while now that the ‘second push’ of Walt Disney World’s 18-month anniversary celebration would kick off right around then, so Cosmic Rewind is probably not the only big addition that’ll debut around that time.
Ultimately, this might feel like somewhat underwhelming news in the grand scheme of things–especially given that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind was supposed to be open now. There’s not really any disputing that, and we’ve experienced repeated frustrations about Walt Disney World dragging out project timelines to spread costs over multiple fiscal years. But, it is what it is.
Beyond those frustrations, we’re happy to hear additional details about Epcot’s transformation and what’s next on the horizon. It’s definitely the park at Walt Disney World that needs the most urgent help, so we’re pleased that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be the centerpiece addition for the ‘second push’ of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary in 2022. Now, if we could just get some additional details about the Play Pavilion, Moana’s Journey of Water, and the entire Central Spine–or World Celebration–that would be huge. Regardless, It’ll be nice to lose some of the construction walls and gain at least one big addition at Epcot in 2022.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot? Does the family-friendly “omnicoaster” appeal to you, or would you prefer something more thrilling or (conversely) slower and even more family friendly? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’m really looking forward to this (although I probably won’t be able to experience it for a few years). But I feel like Cosmic Rewind (with its aliens and suggestions of time travel) would have fit better in Tomorrowland, whereas Tron Lightcycle Run could have made more sense in EPCOT in a digital-themed pavilion. Oh, well…
I personally think this sounds awesome! The Imagineers have a tricky needle to thread when it comes to the intensity level. On the one hand, EPCOT could stand one or two more rides that get the adrenaline pumping (I don’t think Mission: Space qualifies as while it makes a lot of people queasy, it’s not super exciting). On the other hand, there are so comparatively few rides at EPCOT adding anything that doesn’t appeal to little ones just adds to the feeling the park doesn’t have enough for them to do.
I imagine this being on the same level as Test Track when it comes to “family friendliness.” Like I think it will be very much a thrill ride but it won’t be something that would be considered scary/too intense by the majority of people who meet the height requirement (including younger ones).
I hate to do anything that remotely sounds like I’m defending them for an already absurd construction timeline, considering they’ve done this on the TRON coaster and Remy (both rides that are copy and paste jobs) – but imagineering had their hands tied with this. Like you mention, the ride literally cannot open until any kind of principal photography begins on the GoTG Christmas Special. I know first hand that for movies where Imagineering submits budgets for their projects on, they’re entirely beholden to the timeline of the production and squeeze in where they can (as you’d suspect). Gunn has luckily already done a lot of the consulting and pre-vis work with imagineering on this attraction so the pipeline is already somewhat streamlined, unlike when they did it completely separately for Mission Breakout.
The alternative was that this would ONLY feature Rocket and Groot (with a different voice over for Rocket), so I’d begrudgingly much prefer having to wait a bit longer for the full product.
Though I’m sure parks, resorts, and experiences was more than happy to delay those construction costs from hitting their budget for another quarter or two.
I am pretty excited about this! We are booked for 17 nights next August at Fort Wilderness, this is the ride we were hoping would be open. Thank you for the update. Now hoping Tron is done, not so much for the ride but for the train. We enjoy riding the train for a break.
So from what you can tell, is this actually family friendly or “family friendly” for families who have daredevil 8-year-olds who don’t even blink on crazy rides? Like is this 7DMT, Hagrid’s, or Velocicoaster? I don’t even know why I’m asking because I’m terrified of all three of those, but I do have a personal goal of making it on the first two someday. I’ve just been assuming Cosmic Rewind would be one to avoid.
Imagineers were evasive when that question was asked yesterday, but it sounds like this will be more than 7DMT, but less than Big Thunder Mountain. Nothing at all like Hagrid’s or VelociCoaster, both of which are relatively intense–but amazing!
I was surprised at how much more noticeable this building was in person than in photos. I’m not thrilled with the visual, or the dissonance between the original Future World mission and this IP placement, but I am extremely excited for the attraction. I think DCA’s Mission Breakout is a great time, and am really looking forward to a GotG ride that was intentionally designed for the IP from the get go.
Re: the future of the Play Pavilion. Last night, after an hour of doom scrolling through DisTwitter’s response to Harmonius, I took a peak at Zach Ridley’s Instagram feed to see if response was any better there (nope.) I noticed an earlier post from the day about the various Epcot icons/their new flags and he does mention the icon for Play as one of the many now featured at the front of the park. It’s small but it’s the first acknowledgement of the pavilion in a really, really long time.
my guess from a marketing standpoint is a pivot to celebrating Epcot’s 40th anniversary.
the building doesn’t bother me, and in fact in the photo above, it’s hardly noticeable with the paint scheme. i’d rather have 10 of those than the black stargate tacos in the middle of the lagoon…